JANGAL is the solo project of Brodie White, a Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer whose path runs from Whanganui, New Zealand, through years of bands, tours, studios and borrowed rooms, to a new body of work under his own name.

His debut single ‘Stolen Places,’ out 5 May via Quasi Pop, arrives ahead of the self-titled EP on 10 July. Recorded at Junxt Studio in Berlin with Andre Leo engineering and Jeff Collier on drums, the track moves on a crooked bassline, a battered Italian string synth and a groove that feels half mechanical, half alive. There is a story behind that synth too. The original one broke before the sessions, so White drove 700km to a village in Niedersachsen to find its twin. That says a lot about JANGAL: obsessive, physical, analogue!

‘Stolen Places’ deals with structural decay, regret and the uneasy bargains people make inside a transactional world.

After years with The Have, Sun and the Wolf, Laura Carbone, Laura Lee & The Jettes and No Berlin, White now steps forward as the main architect. JANGAL is built from snaky basslines, warped synths, thick vocal layers and guitars that move like weather. The first room is ‘Stolen Places.’ The house opens in full on 10 July.

I keep thinking about that broken Italian string synth, and the fact that you went all the way to a village in Niedersachsen to find its twin. Was there a part of you that knew this was slightly ridiculous, but also knew the whole song would be wrong without it?

Brodie White: Once I get the idea in my head about something like this, it’s hard for me to stop. The instrument just had a particular vibe, which I couldn’t quite replicate any other way. I’m also a bit of a gear obsessive, so as soon as I found a replacement, I knew there was only one way. It appears on every track on the EP too, so it’s a real cohesive element.

‘Stolen Places’ has this feeling of machinery, like the song is alive but not necessarily comfortable in its own body. When you were making it, did you feel like you were trying to repair something, or make peace with the damage?

I’m glad you could feel a little of the tension and dissonance I was trying to create. I think we all have to live with decisions we’ve made that create this feeling; it’s not about repairing or making peace, just sitting with it and letting it be.

You have spent so many years inside bands, scenes, cities, vans, studios, and other people’s records. When JANGAL finally became your own name on the door, did it feel like a new beginning, or more like something that had been waiting for you the whole time?

This project has been gestating for a little while, and I feel like the songs have always been lurking but had never quite taken shape. I played some of the demos to my friend Andre Leo and he offered to help get things moving. So we spent a few days tracking drums and guitars, and JANGAL was underway. Andre also mixed the follow-up single which will be released next month.

You describe the song as dealing with structural decay and the unease of taking part in a transactional world for all the wrong reasons. Was that lyric coming from anger, exhaustion, sadness, or some strange mix of all three?

More from a place of frustration and regret, with a smattering of hopelessness for good measure.

The bassline feels like it is sneaking through the song. Is that where songs usually begin for you?

Although I’m a guitar player first, bass often leads the way when I’m writing. I like letting the bass set the intention for a track and building it up from there. To me, the bassline in ‘Stolen Places’ feels a bit jaunty, but in a spiteful way, like it’s looking back over its shoulder.

The line about doing things for all the wrong reasons feels painfully familiar, maybe because most of us have had to make our little bargains with the world…

Right, I think we’ve all had to do that dance in some way…

Andre Leo and Jeff Collier are both part of this recording, and the track feels very physical because of it. What changed in the room when other people started touching the song?

As I mentioned, Andre Leo engineered the sessions for the first few tracks. It was when we got Jeff on the drum throne that things really started to take shape. I’ve played together with Jeff in a lot of projects and always trust his approach. His groove is weighty and sparse; it leaves plenty of room for bass and percussion to duck and weave.

Tell us about the name “JANGAL”!

I just wanted something that reflected the vibe of the music, something untamed or unrefined. JANGAL, meaning jungle in Sanskrit, ticked that box for me.

With the EP coming in July, does ‘Stolen Places’ feel like the front door into the world of JANGAL, or more like the first room you wanted people to stumble into without quite knowing where they had arrived?

I think the house of JANGAL certainly has a few rooms. Very happy for people to work it out when they arrive. Welcome to the JANGAL…

What’s next for you?

Releasing the first few singles before the EP and rehearsing for some shows in the autumn. Stay tuned…

Klemen Breznikar

Headline photo: Michael Stockon

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